•57,000 tonnes of salt ready to treat trunk routes across north of Scotland

•180 strong winter team ready to tackle winter conditions

•Winter control room to monitor conditions 24/7

BEAR Scotland’s winter maintenance services are up and running and ready to tackle whatever winter weather affects over 2000km of trunk roads across the North East and North West of Scotland.

BEAR Scotland’s winter maintenance team works around the clock, analysing detailed weather forecasts to ensure treatments are carried out as necessary. It has 57,000 tonnes of salt in stock, a workforce of 180 drivers and a fleet of 94 winter vehicles dedicated to helping keep the trunk roads as clear as possible.

Much of the service is related to precautionary treatments – spreading pre-wetted salt on routes that will experience low temperatures – in a bid to stop ice forming. The service also is made up of winter patrols which monitor routes with an ability to spot-treat any icy patches.

Transport Scotland’s online ‘trunk road gritter tracker’, launched last winter, provides live tracking of gritters on the trunk road network. It displays the current location of gritters and a trail with an age range for where gritters have previously passed along trunk routes across Scotland.

BEAR is also on hand to deal with any issues on the trunk roads brought by storms that bring high winds and heavy rain. Gully tankers, sandbags, and water pumps are available to deal with any flooding issues and chainsaw operatives are also on standby to attend any fallen trees or branches.

Iain Murray, BEAR Scotland’s Managing Director, said: “We have 180 dedicated, trained and experienced employees ready to deal with winter across the trunk roads that we maintain. Our winter control room monitors road conditions on a 24/7 basis meaning we can act quickly to changing winter weather conditions from the challenges of low temperatures and snow to bad storms.

“As ever, we ask members of the public to ensure their vehicles are well maintained, that they pay close attention to local and national media and online information to help plan journeys during inclement weather and that they carry equipment to help themselves should conditions deteriorate.”